Chapter 6

Ainz sat on the [Throne of Kings] and scrolled over the list of NPCs found in the Vault. After the ceremony he had brought up the fact that the NPCs could not be found using the [Throne of Kings]. Azirim had apologized profusely and commanded the Vault residents to allow the [Throne of Kings] access. This made Ainz wonder, it seemed that the NPCs created by [Proof of Creation] could resist other World Items. If this were the case then they would serve as the perfect operative outside of the Tomb.

What worried Ainz was Azirim, he almost immediately locked himself in a room on the 10th Floor for three days and pored over every report and piece of information on the Sorcerous Kingdom and the surrounding countries. It was kind of scary to think that every NPC in the Tomb was fanatical to this degree.

Ainz looked up as Azirim approached the throne and knelt.

"My Lord. I want to request a role in the Sorcerous Kingdom. I was created with skills that would benefit the continued expansion of the Sorcerous Kingdom."

"I understand that you have been debriefed by the Floor Guardians. Do you have issues with how Albedo and Demiurge currently handle matters?"

"Not at all my Lord. I wish to lighten their load and serve in the best way that I can."

'Well I see no issues. It's also good to know that they are getting along.'

"Very well. Do you have a particular position you have in mind?"

"I do my Lord."

Carne Village bustled with activity. Humans, dwarves, goblins and ogres were all found within the village working together as the growing season began. The dwarves worked on repairing tools while bulky ogres pushed plows. The humans and goblins walked through the dirt sowing seeds.

Enri felt a little bit guilty as she sat in the shade while goblins attended to her every whim. But the goblins were insistent that "general" Enri should be supervising.

"Heya! Aren't you living it up?~"

Enri jumped and the goblins around her quickly took combat stances. Enri sighed. The strange maid insisted on doing this every time she arrived at the village. No amount of pleading could convince her to announce her arrival beforehand which made her very unpopular amongst the goblin guards.

Enri turned to face Lupusregina Beta and was surprised to see that there was another figure with her. The person seemed to be someone dressed in mismatched, shabby armor and carried a twisted metal rod.

"Good afternoon Lupusregina. Who is it that you brought?"

"Let me introduce you to Azirim! He's an important person in the Sorcerous Kingdom~." Lupusregina responded playfully.

Enri's time as mayor of Carne Village and goblin general has taught her a few things about reading people; despite Lupusregina's playful tone, she still seemed respectful of him when she introduced him.

"Greetings Mayor Enri."

"Nice to meet you too. So, what brings you here? We weren't expecting a visit from Lupusregina for another three days." Enri was careful to maintain a respectful tone towards Azirim.

"I will soon take an important role in the Sorcerous Kingdom. I wanted to get an idea of its citizens."

'That was vague.' thought Enri. But she did not particularly care. If this person was trusted enough by her savior, then she would trust him as well.

"Well, our village does not have anything interesting, you are more than welcome to look around."

Enri considered following Azirim and Lupusregina around but ultimately decided against it. While Azirim was a stranger, Lupusregina was familiar with Carne Village and should serve as an adequate guide.

Azirim walked around the village, occasionally pausing to watch its inhabitants go about their day. He eventually found himself in front of the largest building in the village. It was likely a workshop of some sort as evidenced by the large chimney heaving smoke and the sturdy construction of the building itself.

"And here I was wondering why you had any interest at all in this boring place~."

Azirim moved past the Death Knight that stood guard by the entrance. As he went to open the door a loud bang could be heard from within.

The door swung open as a bunch of soot covered dwarves staggered out coughing. Azirim entered the workshop as Lupusregina remained outside, seemingly uninterested. He approached a dwarf who was busy running around opening windows in an attempt to air out the workshop.

"Greetings Grondo Firebeard. I am Azirim, I have heard much about you from Guardian Aura."

"Ah, you are a friend of the little miss? A friend of hers is a friend of mine. What can I do for you?"

"I am just interested in your research. Can you show me what you have accomplished so far?"

"Ha. My most recent project just went up in smoke." Gondo gestured to the ash that blanketed much of the room. "But we have made some progress on other things."

Gondo made his way to a workbench and Azirim followed. On the workbench were several weapons. Gondo picked up one and gestured to the runes carved into it.

"We have made progress on increasing the number of runes that we can inscribe on a single weapon. We can almost carve three, which unfortunately still cannot compete with high level enchantment magic. But the process to carve three should translate to carving four and possibly even five. Any numbers after that are considered a part of the realm of legends."

Gondo stopped himself and glanced at Azirim.

"Ah. I got a bit carried away there."

"No, no, please continue."

"Right, well, we have also made progress on the rediscovery of lost runes and possibly the creation of new ones as well."

Gondo walked to a nearby table and picked up one of the many stone tablets that lay on the table.

"This rune here is called 'stan' meaning stone. It is a new creation."

Azirim inspected individual tablets at the table, interestingly there was a stone brick with a rune inscribed on it. He picked it up.

"Is there a particular reason a brick was used here?"

Gondo laughed. "Tymar lost a bet, had to do all of his work on bricks instead of tablets, I believe there are more of them laying around here somewhere."

Azirim continued to stare at the brick.

"Gondo, are there any enchantments that runes cannot mirror?"

"Not that I am aware of. There are lightning runes just like there are lightning enchantments for example."

"What about alternate uses for runes? Can they be used on things other than weapons and armor?"

A candle lit up over Gondo's head. He quickly scrambled to find a piece of parchment. He then furiously scribbled down notes and muttered to himself.

"If I were to combine the runes 'daeg' and 'cen' then perhaps..?"

After finishing his note, Gondo then began talking very excitedly.

"Enchanted continuous light lamps are really expensive. That's why you only see them in the homes of the wealthy right? And it's also why you don't see them used as street lamps outside of a nation's capital. If my theory is correct, we will only need two runes, maybe three, and we can create continuous light lamps at a much lower cost!"

Gondo began to breath heavily and his words seemed to be meant for himself then for Azirim.

"But wait, that's not the only thing we could do. We could also carve runes into things to make stuff more durable. It would require different runes depending on what we are trying to enhance but we currently have the means to make bricks more durable."

Gondo then looked at Azirim.

"I cannot thank you enough for this inspiration. All this time I had been constrained by the mindset that runecraft was meant for weapons and armor, I failed to realize that it can be applied to so much more."

Azirim placed the brick back down.

"Then I shall leave you to it. Thank you for your time."

As Azirim turned to leave he could already see Gondo carving away at a piece of metal.